A locked door of a family who fled a Christian colony in the Okara district of Pakistan after being accused of blasphemy, June 23, 2024. (CDI-MSN)
Lahore, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Pakistani police arrested Christians under blasphemy laws on Sunday (June 23) as part of retaliation between brothers over a property dispute, officials said.
The arrests came on the same day that a key government minister acknowledged in parliament that the Pakistani government had failed to protect religious minorities from false blasphemy allegations.
Officers from Okara A Zone police station arrested Chand Shamaun, 26, from his home in Christian Colony in Punjab’s Okara district after he got into an argument with his brothers the previous night over a share of an ancestral home, said Younis Chauhan, a Christian leader in the area.
Chauhan said he was present along with other Christians when Deputy Commissioner of Police Mehul Yousaf arrived there along with other police officers.
“The police asked me if I knew anything about any incidents of Quran desecration that had taken place in the colony,” Chauhan told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “When I replied that no such incidents had taken place, DSP Yousaf asked me to take him to Chand Shamaun’s house. On reaching the place, the police arrested Chand’s brother Zeeshan Shamaun, who was sleeping at the time.”
Chand Shamaung also arrived and was detained, they said.
Chauhan said local residents asked police why they were arresting the two brothers, to which Yousaf replied that they had received information that Chand Shamaun had desecrated the Quran.
“We told the police that the brothers used to quarrel often over share of property but they have not committed any blasphemy,” Chauhan said. “The DSP assured us that the brothers will be booked under Sections 147 and 151 of the Pakistan Penal Code for disturbing public peace and will get bail from the court on Monday.”
But they were surprised a few hours later when eight to 10 police vehicles arrived and blocked the road leading to Chand Shamaung’s house.
“That’s when I learnt that the police had registered a first information report. [FIR] A suit under Section 295-A against Chand. [of Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes] “And it violates Section 9 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997,” he said.
Section 295-A provides for a maximum imprisonment of 10 years for “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting religion or religious beliefs”, while Section 9 of the 1997 ATA relates to “acts intended to incite or likely to incite sectarian hatred” and carries a maximum imprisonment of seven years.
Chauhan said the police deployment had prompted several Christian families to lock their homes and leave the area, fearing the suspected blasphemy charges would spark violent protests by Islamist groups.
“Fortunately, there have been no protests in the city and residents have started returning to their homes,” he said.
Chand Shyamaun works as an ambulance driver and has two minor children. At the time of writing, his brother Zeeshan remains in police custody. The family could not be reached for comment.
Bishop Abraham Daniel of the Baptist Church in Sahiwal criticised the police for registering a false FIR against the Christian.
“The FIR, registered on the basis of a complaint by police inspector Haider Ali, states that he and five other policemen were standing outside Okara District Headquarters Hospital when Chand Shamaun came and started shouting that he would burn the Quran over a dispute between Zeeshan and his sister Zunaira, who converted to Islam some time ago,” Daniel told Christian Daily International Morning Star News.
According to Ali, when police tried to arrest Chand Shamaun, he fled on foot to Christian Colony.
“The charges against Chand were filed by the police malicious“They turned a family dispute into a religious incident when in fact no act of blasphemy was committed,” Daniel said.
He said he regretted that blasphemy laws were being blatantly misused against Christians in Pakistan.
“False blasphemy allegations and cases have become commonplace here,” he said, “to the point where entire areas are abandoned on mere accusations. The case against Chand is a cause for concern as the plaintiff is not an individual but a police officer who has clearly fabricated the case.”
“Minorities are dangerous”
Also on Sunday, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, speaking at a special session of Parliament, deplored the rise in incidents of mob violence against religious minorities in Pakistan.
“Minorities are being killed every day,” Asif said. “No religious minority is safe in Pakistan, not even a small Muslim sect.”
The minister said lawmakers from the finance ministry wanted to introduce a resolution in the House of Representatives in support of religious minorities.
“Our constitution says minorities will be protected, but in reality we are seeing minorities being killed in Swat, Sargodha and Faisalabad,” he said. “This is worrying and shameful.” [for the nation]. “
On June 20, a mob lynched a Muslim man from Sialkot at Madian Police Station in Swat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police had detained Muhammad Suleiman on suspicion of desecrating the Quran. The mob not only killed him, but also set fire to his body, the police station and his official vehicle.
On May 25, a frenzied Muslim mob, including women and children, beat 74-year-old Christian Nazir Masih Gill with stones and sticks after a local rival accused him of burning the Quran. The mob also set fire to Gill’s shoe factory and home. Gill underwent two head surgeries but died of his injuries nine days later, on June 3.
Asif told parliament that no blasphemy charges had been proven against any of these people.
“We must ensure the safety of our minority brothers and sisters,” he said. “They have the same right to live in this country as the majority. Pakistan belongs to all Pakistanis, whether Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or any other religion. Our Constitution guarantees full protection to minorities.”
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar then read out a resolution emphasizing that “the right to life is the most important right enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.”
“This House takes serious note of the recent incidents of mob lynching of nationals accused of crimes in Swat and Sargodha,” Tarar read, “It has been noticed that in the recent past there has been an increase in similar incidents in various parts of the country.”
The resolution also called on federal and state governments to “ensure the safety and security of all citizens, including religious minorities and other vulnerable sections of society.”
The National Assembly therefore specifically called on the “provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to take immediate and necessary steps to identify, investigate and prosecute those involved in these incidents in accordance with the relevant laws.”
“Further, the House expressed its expectation that the courts will deliver immediate and swift justice in these cases and stressed the need for swift legal action to prevent such tragic events from occurring in the future,” the resolution concluded.
Pakistan retained its seventh place ranking as the most difficult place to be a Christian in Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List.
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- A locked door of a family who fled after being accused of blasphemy in a Christian colony in the Okara district of Pakistan, June 23, 2024. (CDI-MSN)
